The Last Apple
by Slave2Writing
Summary: In an effort to promote tourism for their small town, a realm where both magic and technology may coexist, Cora persuades her daughter to become Storybrooke's first annual Bachelorette. Pursued by both male and female suitors, Regina struggles between falling in love and the knowledge that her final champion's fate will be cast into darkness.


Squirming beneath the scrutiny of the hidden lights and cameras, Regina attempts to discreetly wipe the sweat off her palms onto the thin fabric of her dress. There's a constant breeze gently stirring the air, the barest comfort she can find in the summer heat. Perspiration gives her olive toned skin a healthy glow, a pale caramel brown draped in shades of royal blue and turquoise, her chest completely covered with the fabric dipping in the back, an expanse of unexpectedly well defined muscle that cuts off at the waist, her hips completing the harmonious mesh of masculinity and femininity.

"Nervous?" One of the cameramen asks her, one eye squinted close as he waits for her response behind the lens.

"I am a little nervous." Her smile is shaky, partly because she allows it to be. They've all encouraged her, and coached her, how to win over an audience, how to answer questions as if nobody behind the camera had prompted her or asked, how to subtly signal which suitors she likes, which ones she doesn't like, never letting on that she's already in love, that there's already someone waiting for her once this ridiculous charade is over.

"I have no idea who is coming, what they will be like, and if I will even find anyone in this group to fall in love with, and who will love me back." After a hesitation, Regina spreads her smile, plastic and pretty, willing molten chocolate eyes to brighten in a flare of warm brown. "But I am optimistic. My mother is the most important person in my life, and the most important thing she has taught me is that I cannot expect to find love until I leave myself open to it. I think for a long time, I was afraid of getting hurt, which is why I have never been able to commit to a relationship."

"But you're ready now?"

"I am absolutely ready to commit to someone, to be their wife, the mother of their kids." Regina hides her hands behind her back, wiping her palms against the fabric once more, the camera framing her face and bust, leaving her arms with some freedom of movement. "Love is a journey, sometimes wonderful, sometimes difficult, and there is no guarantee where the road will take you. I am still afraid of getting hurt, but I am no longer terrified of risking it. I want my happy ending, my true love, my ever after."

"And you think you'll find that here?"

"I really do think I will find that here, however… ask me after I meet them all." Regina gives a light laugh, turning from the cameraman to see Jefferson, the show's host, bounding from the house, down the steps, towards the small courtyard they stand in.

"Good evening, my dear!" Jefferson sweeps his top hat off his head, tousled wavy chestnut brown hair spilling across his eyes as he dives into a bow before springing back up again, a wide energetic smile flashed across his face with a razor sharp edge, his eyes cold with restrained despair. Everything about him is practiced charm and elusive mystery, he leaves Regina feeling oddly at ease, as if she were securely balanced on the edge of something frightening and deep.

"Hello, Jefferson." She leans in to kiss his cheek, the scent of cinnamon and mushrooms clinging to his freshly shaven chin.

Placing a gentle hand on her back, just above her waist, Jefferson urges her a few steps forward while the camera crew situate themselves around the border of the stone courtyard, squeezing between potted plants and the overarching hedges, signaling to themselves whenever they get in the other's shot, giving Jefferson the clear when they are all out of each other's sight.

"So, the first carriage is just about to arrive. Your future partner in life could be stepping out in just a few minutes. How do you feel about that?"

"Nervous. Excited." Regina laughs, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "Impatient to meet them, and get started."

Jefferson smiles, energetic flares of light that don't quite reach his eyes, their mutual lies reflected in the other. "You've waited a very long time to find love, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck, Regina." He takes her hand in his, lifting it to his lips, brushing them across her knuckles, and it feels more like a warning than anything else. "No one deserves love more than you. I'll see you at the Rose Ceremony after the cocktail party."

He lowers her hand, and lets go, turning around and bounding away, swallowed by the maze of garden hedges that encircle the oval courtyard, stretching all the way back to the grand castle that looms above the grounds, with the snow capped Maine mountains, moonlit lake and star sprinkled night sky as its backdrop.

At the familiar trotting of hooves, and creaking squeak of wooden wheels rolling across cobblestone, Regina turns back to the stretch of lamplit road, waiting in front of the fountain that centers the courtyard, until the first carriage of suitors comes into view.

_I don't want to be here! _The panicked thought strikes like lightning, fire sparked in her throat, but the cameras train their lights on her and the large dark horse leading the carriage slows to a stop just in front of her, and she swallows all protests, all fears, all the resentment she feels towards her mother for forcing her into this. The door pushes open, and Regina paints a smile on her lips, greeting the first of five suitors.

* * *

><p><em>Carriage One<em>

"Woah!" Victor lets out a low whistle, leaning across his fellow companions to get a better look out the carriage window, peering at the young woman a few feet away, standing alone, draped in rich blue and illuminated by moonlight. "What a babe."

"She's beautiful." Sidney breathes against the glass, briefly fogging up the window.

"Me first!" Leroy declares, but the door is already pushing open, and it's Graham climbing down the stepladder, hopping onto the cobblestones below.

"Hello." An Irish accent tickles the breeze coasting across the night sky, slipping pleasantly into Regina's ears, an unexpected treat that nearly catches her off guard. "I'm Graham." Flushed pink lips spread into a warm smile, the light spreading through bearded cheeks, towards the crinkled corners of the man's blue eyes. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." Regina smiles for the cameras encircling them both, but then Graham steps forward, closer into her space, and she's inhaling ocean salt and cigar scented flames. Her eyes flicker up at the man's face, forcibly aware of his beauty, wondering at the beard coating his cheeks, and the trickle of sand colored curls that drip over his brow, just above his eyes.

_Are they as soft as they look? _Her fingers twitch with strange need, but she quiets them down, gripping at the fabric of her dress.

"I know you're going to meet a lot of guys tonight, so I brought you a little token to remember me by." Graham raises something in front of her eyes, light from the courtyard's decorative street lamp glinting off the silver medal. "I work as a park ranger back home. I thought, for at least tonight, you could be my honorary deputy."

The smile spreads, warmer than the first, genuine and flattered and freely impolite. "Would that make you my boss?"

"Would you ever date your boss?"

"It could complicate things."

Graham flashes her a grin, already pinning the badge upon her breast, the thin pin slipping through the dress. "Don't worry, if things get awkward between us, I'll just fire you."

She feigns a gasp while her fingers rise to the badge, a gentle stroke of cool metal, the tip of her thumb grazing the pointed edges of a star.

Graham gives a two finger salute before backing away, ushered by unseen production assistants towards the nearby house settled adjacent to the courtyard, where the cocktail party and Rose Ceremony will take place. Regina waits for him to fully disappear before turning back to the carriage, where the next suitor ambles down the steps.

"Evening, pretty lady." Regina has little time to register the sleek black hair pulled into a ponytail, or the forest of curls peeking through the red polo shirt covering a muscular chest, before she's blinded by the brightest smile she's ever seen and grabbed into an enthusiastic bear hug.

"Oomph!" Struggling against aftershave and overwhelming gusts of cologne, Regina stiffens up in her attacker's arms, their strong grip relaxing around her after a minute longer than necessary. Pulling back, to bare her teeth and bark out the order to never dare touch her again, she's startled by the man's sudden sweeping bow and booming laugh, feeling the pounding drums reverberating in her own chest.

"I am Gaston!" He grabs her hand, turning it over until her palm faces up, bending down to press his wet lips deep into the paler shade of caramel colored flesh.

Regina barely restrains her glare, pulling back her hand as soon as she is able. "How very nice to - "

"Women love flowers, so I have brought you a rose." With a flourished motion, Gaston waves his arm around, and Regina's eyes are unwittingly drawn to his antics, feeling the mild slap of his sleeve against her face before a single rose is presented before her.

"Thank you," She speaks gingerly, tentatively seeking the long, green stem once she's assured his antics have calmed down.

"Perhaps you will give this one back to me, once it's time for the ceremony." Gaston winks a bright blue eye, confident that she will.

"Perhaps." She replies simply, relief spurting across her face like a vandalized fire hydrant the moment he walks away, disappearing out of sight. _Idiot._

She does like roses though, however conventional they may be, gently stroking the rouge petals before tossing it to one of the production assistants scurrying across the courtyard, making sure to skirt the edges of each camera's vision. _Dance, monkey._

As if in retaliation for her private moment of amusement, the director cues the next contestant to step forward out of the carriage, and Regina's eyes nearly bulge out from her head in affronted shock.

"Hey, sister." A little man grunts, unfocused beady eyes gradually sharpening, openly scanning her body from top to bottom, lingering on the fabric clinging to her hips and chest, before finding her parted lips and finally meeting her gaze, his head slightly tilted back in order to take her all in. "The name's Leroy."

"...hi."

"You're beautiful," He tells her, a crooked smile cracked across his bearded face, moonlight hitting his bald head. "I know I'm not, but if you choose me, I promise I won't ever let you forget how precious you are. I won't ever stop doing right by you, and doing my best to always prove how special you are to me."

Regina blinks. "Th-thank you."

"Yeah, no problem." Leroy nods, ambling past, shoving his hands into the pockets of dark slacks, directed towards the house. "See ya inside, sister."

Around one of the hedges, seated on a bench, a cameraman tilts his head to the side and lifts a finger to the wire in his ear, listening to murmured instructions. When Leroy comes into view, he stands up and motions the little man to break from the path and walk towards him.

"What inspired you to make such a passionate declaration?"

"Guys like me... who _look_ like me, especially when surrounded like guys who look like, well, the other guys I've seen here," Leroy shrugs. "We can't afford to play it cool. If I want to get a girl, if I want to get a fantastic girl like Regina, my only chance is to go in strong, lay my feelings out, and prove to her that I can be the guy to treat her the best, like she deserves to be treated. So that's how I'm gonna play it."

"Do you think you have a good chance of getting the rose tonight? Of ultimately winning her heart?"

Leroy narrows his eyes, gazing directly into the camera. "I'm not here to find love, I'm here to fight for it. If it works out, great. If not, at least I didn't wimp out and refuse to try."

Shuffling her feet, readjusting the silver ranger's badge upon her breast, Regina looks up again to see new feet tapping against the carriage stairs.

"Good evening." A fully grown man steps out, dark skin adorned in gold, the fabric coasting down the length of his body, brushed across the cobblestone, hiding the sweep of his feet. Upon his head rests a red turban, and twirled beneath his nose, above the curve of his dark lips is a mustache, its own intricate design appearing to tease the man's own face.

"My name is Sidney." He strides towards Regina, dipping into a low bow, every movement measured, but seamless.

"Hello, Sidney." Regina repeats the name, tasting it on her tongue, intrigued by the deep voice, a foreign accent she can't quite place, wondering which country or which world the man comes from. Her eyes roam his face, lingering on the goatee dangling from his chin, mildly tempted to tangle her fingers through it, wind it around, tug it down, as if she were a curious toddler making the nearest foreign face her playground.

"I shall see you inside." Sidney smiles, the spread of thin lips, somehow making his face appear even more serious. "I look forward getting to know you."

"And you." Regina murmurs, feeling absurd for lowering her voice, as if the two of them were sneaking around, despite the dozen or so cameras trained on them. His voice is deep and rich, like curling up beside the fireplace.

The fifth contestant is already on the ground by the time Regina turns around. Tall with platinum blonde hair swept across his rather prominent forehead, and pale blue eyes that pierce her own gaze, his lips curled in a disdainful sneer that is oddly attractive on his narrow, pale face. For a wild second, Regina thinks she's meeting Draco Malfoy, but then the man talks, lacking an English accent, and she calms down.

"At last we meet." He strides forward, inclining his head, hands clasped behind his back. "My name is Victor Frankenstein. _Doctor_ Victor Frankenstein."

"Oh, yes? Which branch of medicine?" She asks, sensing he'd like her to.

"The kind of work I do is much too complicated to explain in such a short span of time. For simplicity's sake, you may consider me a surgeon." His mild sneer spreads, grazing the edges of a grin. "I have always had an interest in the human body. Studying how it works, exploring its limitations and continuing to press further beyond them."

"How… interesting." The sound of a faint siren begins to rage in the back of her head, a dizzying blur of red and blue lights flashing across her vision, but Regina is careful not to react to the uncomfortable feeling that churns the acid in her gut. _I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here._

Victor appears to be waiting for a greater level of interest and praise to fall from her lips, patiently standing before her while casting glances over at the nearest camera, eager to grant the show as much footage of him as possible.

"I shall see you inside soon, Victor."

"I look forward to it." He reaches for her hand, layer upon layer of some other man's saliva coating the skin stretched across whitened knuckles. Victor grins at her as if he's the first to make this move, and Regina smiles politely back, waiting for him to leave the oval courtyard before wiping her hand against the fabric of her dress.

"May I have some water?" Regina sits on the edge of the marble fountain, droplets sprinkling her back, the cameras scoping out the constructed beauty of the grounds, taking shots of the castle still looming in the distance, filming footage that will be used to fill in gaps of space, while she drinks from a bottle of water and waits for the next carriage to arrive.

* * *

><p><em>Carriage Two<em>

Annoyed by the horse-drawn carriage's incessant jostling, and the fact that the handle of her neighbor's sword continues to poke into her side, Maleficent gives the Asian warrior woman a withering glare before rising up in her seat and plopping down on top Ruby Lucas.

"Hey!" Ruby protests, the sound slightly muffled by a tumble of blonde curls cascading down the older woman's shoulders and spilling into the werewolf's mouth.

"Kindly refrain from chewing on my hair, dear." Maleficent adjusts herself on the young girl's lap, continuing to glare at the warrior woman who seems unconcerned with the drama, gazing nonplussed out the carriage window. "I wouldn't have had to move if _someone_ hadn't broken the rules and brought weaponry."

"Won't you be disqualified for that?" Belle asks from the opposite cushion, nevertheless admiring the ruby jewels indented upon the ornate handle. "I thought were all supposed to be unarmed."

"I am not a suitor." Mulan keeps her gaze fastened to the window. "I am an emissary for the emperor of my kingdom. He has bade me compete for the Lady Regina's hand in his stead."

"How romantic." Ruby laughs from behind a forest of golden hair, while Belle wrinkles her nose in disapproval of the emperor's tactics, and Maleficent continues to glare with contempt.

"How does that give you a right to carry a weapon?"

"It identifies me as my lord's political ambassador, and frankly is none of your business." Mulan turns her head away from the scenery, black eyes scraping the woman's form from head to toe. "If it eases your mind, I doubt the two of us will be forced to tolerate one another for much longer."

"I can only assume that to mean you're well aware of your impending failure, and the fact that you and your lazy emperor are wasting everybody's time."

Outside, alerted by the sound of hooves pounding on the winding dirt road, Regina pushes up off the fountain's edge, wetting her lips before plastering a smile across her face. There's an unexpected pause that drags on between the carriage stopping and the door opening, and when it does, Regina catches the sounds of a heated argument cutting off, before a young woman's head pops out, her expression one of discomfort until bright blue eyes find Regina, immediately lighting up.

"I love your dress!" Princess Ariel squeals, a blinding flash of white teeth that illuminates the night, slightly stumbling across the cobblestones, a faint pink hue coating her cheeks as she reaches the bachelorette.

"Thank you." Regina's smile is a little awkward, extending a hand to help steady the first of her female suitors. "Yours is very becoming as well."

Ariel beams, her petite body enclosed in a gown the color of sea foam, her face clear of any makeup, tucking a crimson curl behind her ear, pearl stud earrings caught by the moonlight. "I'm sorry if I'm a little clumsy, I'm still getting used to all this!"

"All what?"

"Well, I've never really - " Ariel falters, hesitation slightly dimming the bright light shining just behind her eyes. "I've never done anything like this before. I'm not sure what to expect."

"I've never done anything like this before either." Regina forcibly resists the urge to chew on her bottom lip. "Perhaps we can figure things out together."

Ariel's smile turns shy. "I'd like that very much."

She gives a final curtsy, and then makes her way around the corner of hedges, a soft _click clack_ of her heels against cobblestones. A cameramen tilts his head as a quick instruction is buzzed into his ear, tickling the sensitive flesh. Ariel pauses uncertainly as she's gestured off the path by one of the production assistants.

"You seemed to hesitate back there. Was it just nerves, or something else?"

"I'm not sure what you mean. I… I _am_ nervous, but…" Ariel glances over her shoulder, unsure whether her voice can carry through the throng of camouflaged humans swarming the garden, towards the bachelorette who is already greeting her second female suitor.

The cameraman covers the mike just beneath his chin. "It's okay, say whatever you want."

After a few more probing questions, the cameras flash across her face, and Ariel nervously wets her lips before laying out her confession. "It's not that I want to lie, but Regina and I don't know one another yet, and I don't want her to freak out before really getting to know me. If things work out between us, if we like each other enough, then of course I'll tell her that I'm a mermaid."

The carriage seems to jostle a bit, gold plated wheels rocking on the cobbled ground. Regina arches a brow with mingled impatience and amusement, wondering if some of the competitors are already trying to take the other out, saving her the trouble. Finally the door opens, a sharp argument that once more cuts off again, splintered by the night sky and summer heat. A long leg extends out, a daring slit cutting through the second suitor's dress, revealing a good patch of her thigh.

"Good evening, my dear." A throaty chuckle teases the buzz of electricity and mild breeze. The entire realm seems to briefly shimmer with static. "I am Maleficent."

The woman pushes off the carriage steps and stalks over towards the stunned bachelorette. Any impression the pretty redhead might have made upon Regina billows away in a furious storm of blonde curls, electric blue eyes, heaving bosoms, taloned fingers grasping her shoulders, and a fierce smirk disguised as a kiss pressing against one cheek and then the other.

"Maleficent." The strange syllables strung together entangle her tongue and teeth, ensuring that this will be the first name Regina can easily remember. The older woman isn't exactly beautiful, but she has vaguely handsome features, sharpened by age, and an absolute magnetism wrapped around her like a tornado of purple velvet fabric and emerald jewels.

"Your portrait did not do you justice." Maleficent appraises the young woman, the dark shine of raven hair curling over bare shoulders. "You are a rare beauty, indeed."

Although fairly used to compliments pertaining to her physical appearance, Regina is a little taken aback by the blatant desire clouding the woman's gaze, an uncomfortable heat pulsating in her stomach, a light hue coloring her cheeks.

"Thank you. You look amazing." _Exquisite. Ravishing. _Regina's smile stiffens across her lips, fighting off any thoughts of attraction. _Shut up, shut up, none of this even matters._

All too aware of the cameras trained upon her, and the knowledge that Cora is probably watching the scene by her own secretive means, Regina reminds herself for the millionth time of her resolve to stay impassive, emotionally uninvolved.

"I'm so glad you're here. I'll see you inside."

"I've travelled across realms to meet you, my dear, and so far the journey has been undoubtedly worth it." Maleficent leaves with a parting smile, her dress sweeping across the ground, her high heels completely absent of sound as they strike against the grey stones.

The third contestant steps lightly on the carriage steps, her feet hidden by the large skirt of her yellow ballgown, its shade somewhere between gold and mustard. Embroidered upon her breast is a bronze insignia that clearly identifies her as a member of the nobility, though from which court or realm, Regina doesn't immediately recognize.

"Hi…" A shy smile spreads across a pear shaped face, chestnut curls bouncing against a pale neck and partially bare shoulders, framing startling bright blue eyes. "I'm Belle."

"Belle, that's a beautiful name." Regina grants a shallow incline of her head as the aristocrat offers up a perfect curtsy.

"Thank you, princess, though it pales in contrast to your own." The shallow compliment is nearly swallowed whole by the thickness of her accent and tender smile wrapped around each consonant.

Regina's carefully constructed polite features soften at the tone. Her ears have always appreciated the strange and unfamiliar lilts of foreign sounds and music.

"Thank you for coming."

"I'm excited to be here." Belle's smile is fresh. "I suppose I'll see you inside."

Regina turns to watch her leave, a faded blur of bronze and yellow that disappears around one of the hedges, a small camera crew tracking her progression towards the castle.

The carriage door creaks open, and Regina returns her attention to the next of her female suitors.

"Wow…" A soft blush overtakes her face upon realizing her voice had carried, as evidenced by the sudden playful smirk adorning the face of the tall woman approaching her.

"Good wow or bad wow?" Ruby pauses in front of the bachelorette, red silk seemingly painted onto her skin, a daring slit running up towards her right thigh, the pale cream of her leg exposed beneath the moonlight.

Regina audibly gulps, provoking a wide grin to spread across her newest suitor's face. _Oh dear… mother would never approve of you at all._ "Yes, definitely. I mean - definitely a good wow."

Grinning wide and blooming with confidence, the young suitor offers a playful curtsy to the bachelorette, and Regina bites back a giggle at the sheer clumsiness of the gesture. It's immediately apparent that the young woman straightening up before her is not descended from conventional royalty.

"My name is Ruby, I hail from the Moon Tribe, back in the Enchanted Forest."

Regina's eyes widen in excitement. "I visited the territory once, the land is absolutely beautiful."

"Really? We must have met in passing then. Our community is small, and we don't get many visitors."

"I doubt it." Regina's smile turns shy. "I think I might have remembered you."

Ruby laughs, and then sticks out her hand. "Well, I'm glad we've met at last."

Their hands slide easily against one another, the moon girl's long, pale digits grasping the darker cream of Regina's soft skin. When they make eye contact, a crackle of electricity shoots through them both, causing the hair on the back of Ruby's neck to stand on end. Blushing, they both quickly release the other from her hold.

"Find me inside?" Ruby grins, already backing away, heading for the castle.

"I will." Regina watches her go, dark eyes lingering on the well defined muscles and pert bottom, everything highlighted by the moonlight and assisted by the daring dress.

The cameras are just as attracted to the pleasing figure, racing after the unexpectedly fast gait of the moon girl. Regina tunes out the distant garbled sounds of Ruby's interview, focussing instead on the closed carriage door which holds one remaining suitor.

Waiting for her exit cue, Fa Mulan fiddles with the strange device discretely positioned behind her ear, shadowed by the dark ink of her long hair. She hasn't worn it down like this, for all to see, since she was a child, before she joined her emperor's army. And the paint these servants have layered on top of her feels too heavy on her face, but she's determined to play along for the honor of his majesty.

The device crackles to life. "_...aaand you're up, Mulan!_"

Taking a deep breath, Mulan nods firmly to herself, and then pushes open the carriage door, clambering a little gracelessly down the steps. She's immediately aware of the summer heat, which feels harmless against her face, but causes her to swelter in the decorative armor hanging off her body.

Red and black leather weigh heavily on her body, held together by sashes and gold buttons, a long red cape spilling down her back, its origin disappearing beneath the large shoulder pads. The gravel crunches beneath her boots as she steps off the dirt path and onto cobblestone.

"Are you a knight?"

Mulan looks up, and cannot quite contain the immediate wince she makes at the sight of a young woman, practically an infant when compared to the emperor. "I… uh… no, that is - just a simple soldier, princess. We don't have 'knights' in my land."

The excitement Regina had felt upon sighting the intriguing woman warrior is immediately replaced with bristling indignation at the expression of displeasure that had so quickly flashed across the foreign woman's face. _Surely I am not that disappointing a sight to behold._

"At ease, soldier." The bachelorette offers up a tight smile, gesturing for the woman to approach closer. "And, you need not refer to me so formally. My name is Regina."

"Lady Regina," The woman bends her back into a bow, her legs pressed firmly together, "my name is Fa Mulan. I hail from the East Shadow Empire, ruled by his majesty Emperor Gaozu, who has bade me compete for your hand in his stead."

It takes a moment for the full meaning of her words to sink in.

"He _sent_ you to woo me for him?" Regina's lips part in surprise. "How can he expect you to do that?"

"I am a well-experienced ambassador, princess, rest assured any questions you may have in regards to the empire's cultural practices, what life you would lead in the palace, any appropriate details you wish to learn about his majesty would be sufficiently answered."

Regina shakes her head, eyes narrowed. "But this is a journey to find love - _mutual_ love. How can I find love with your emperor if I never even meet him?"

"Please do not mistake his absence for an insult, princess." Mulan wets her lips, a quick swipe of her tongue across dry skin. She cannot be turned away now, not until she's crossed the threshold of the castle, and retrieved the object of her master's true desire. "He trusted that any royal would understand how difficult it can be to tear oneself away from the sworn duties of running an entire empire. I am here merely to ensure that you both uphold the same values and share a sufficient number of similar interests, enough that I could readily recommend the both of you to each other. Once done, you would of course meet for the first time on these… eh…" She struggles for a second to recall the title. "...hometown dates? Yes?"

Not nearly won over, an argument still balanced on her tongue, Regina angrily opens up her mouth before snapping it shut, remembering again, suddenly, that this doesn't matter to her. She's not really looking for love, and so the emperor's tactics shouldn't offend her so.

"...ah, I see." She concedes lamely, expression struggling to soften. "That does make some sense, I suppose."

Clearly relieved that the argument has been dropped, Mulan bows again, eager to move past the bachelorette. "My lady."

Regina curtsies in response, and allows the soldier to leave, the crunch of her leather boots fading into the winding maze of hedges and blinding flash of the mobile camera crew.

"Okay… aaaaand… CUT!" An assistant director lunges forward, opening and shutting the clapperboard in front of the camera before darting back behind the crew again.

Before she's swarmed by the makeup crew, who dab at her cheeks and forehead, tutting at the beads of sweat, Regina slowly rolls her head around her shoulders, relishing the vocal _crack_ her neck makes in protest of the night's activities.

Only four more carriages to go, seven more men and seven more women. She refuses to let herself consider the cocktail party and rose ceremony, only able to push through the night if she takes it one piece at a time.

"Ready?" A director calls out to her, and she brushes the cosmetic team away, shifting in place, straightening up and squaring her shoulders.

_Bring it on._

* * *

><p>Jefferson takes a final drag of his cigarette before letting it drop to the ground, digging his heel until it's an ashen stain on the cobble stones.<p>

"_We're rolling, sir._"

He nods in acknowledgement, carefully arranging his face until a wide smile has spread, his blue gaze piercing through the camera. "Welcome to Storybrooke, ladies and gentlemen! As many of you know, this unique realm is distinguished from its neighbors by one single characteristic; it is a place where both magic and technology may equally coexist. Founded in 1983 by pioneer explorers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, it has since served as a popular port for merchants transporting goods between realms, and tourists seeking the quiet ease of small town life."

In the editing room, they'll splice in shots of Storybrooke, including footage of the founding Brothers Grimm delighting in eating Granny Lucas' famous rhubarb pie.

"The culture that exists and thrives here is like no other, which makes it the perfect backdrop for _this_ particular bachelorette. Ladies and gentlemen of all realms, I present to you… Princess Regina."

Jefferson dips into an elaborate bow, sweeping his arm in a directed fashion, which will be edited to show him dragging the beginnings of another sequence to layer atop his own. They still have to complete Regina's narration of her backstory, continuing to workshop what shines her in the best light.

"Cut! Okay - good, Jefferson." The director turns to his assistant and orders him to play the scene back on the small screen. "Now we just need you to do the same exact thing, but a fraction faster. Is that okay? Okay… rolling!"

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter:<strong> _Regina greets two more sets of suitors, while Cora and Jefferson share a revealing conversation - what's the real reason she's forcing her daughter to be The Bachelorette?_


End file.
